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June 16, 1931. v. N. MALAPETA UNDERSHIRT FULLER Filed 001:. 18, 1929 INVENTOR MMMaza ew BY QM .Mm

ATTORNEY Patented June 16, 1931 UNHTED STATES VASELE N. MALAPETA, F TERMINOUS, CALIFORNIA UNDERSHIRT FULLER Application filed October 18, 1929. Serial No. 400,718.

This invention relates to accessories for the use of working men to facilitate the removal of their undershirts.

Practically all laboring men wear undershirts of heavy material and of the slip-over type, and in summer especially such garments.

are hard to remove when they and their wearers are wet from perspiration, as they are apt to be after the strenuous efforts which such workers are usually called on to perform.

Such a garment must be pulled off over the head of the wearer and when in the above named wet or damp condition the garment ofi'ers considerable resistance to being thus removed, and it is a very awkward and hard operation to perform, as is well known to those wearing such undershirts.

The principal object of my invention is to provide an implement articularly designed to engage the undershirt from the back to enable the same to be pulled ofi without the excessive back bending and contortional efforts nownecessary on the part of the wearer, and which have a tendency to make the garment cling even closer to the body.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive implement and yet one which will be. exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear from a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary back view of a man showing my improved garment puller as in operation.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the implement itself.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the implement is of hook-line form. It comprises a relatively long shank 1, bowed somewhat intermediate its ends and arranged at one end to serve as a handle to be grasped by the operator. From the opposite end of the shank-a relatively short sharply curved web 59 2 depends from that side of the shank to which the bow is concave. Toward its outer end the Web flares laterally of the shank and merges into and supports a rigid garment engaging element 3 which projects forwardly or toward the handle end of the shank. This element 65 is in the form of a flatoval loop or ring diverging somewhat from the shank. The side edges of this loop are curved and converge toward each other from the web end; the opposite faces of the loop tapering toward such edges especially across the front so that the element is relatively thin or sharp, as shown at 5, without however being actually capable of cutting.

In operation the undershirt 4 to be removed is first pulled out from the trousers, as indicated in Fig. 1. The implement is then grasped in one hand by the handle and is manipulated so that the shank depends down the back a certain distance, with the loop 3 facing the garment. The peculiar curved or bowed shape of the shank allows the same to clear the shoulder blades without the operator having to reach his hand too far back. The loop is then engaged with the garment at any point convenient to the operator and an upward pull is exerted on the shank. The relatively thin edge of the loop which engages the garment prevents the same from slipping without cutting into or damaging 30 the same and the garment is raised at the point of engagement. The fabric of course is gradually gathered into folds, which are received between the shank and the loop, and which, projecting into the hollow central area of the loop, further prevent slipping of the garment. When the garment has been thus raised a distance convenient to the operator the implement is released from its engagement with the same and is lowered to take a fresh hold if necessary, or until the implement is engaged with the bottom of the garment. The garment may thus be entirely withdrawn from the body without the wearer having to bend over excessively in order to accomplish this feat.

Thegarment in the process of being removed is therefore not stretched against the body, as is the case with the ordinary method of removal, and which increases the tendency mo of the garment to cling to the body and the difficulties of removing the same.

The implement is preferably made in one piece of any suitable material, such as aluminum, which, while strong, is very light.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such an implement as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention asset forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the implement, still in practice such deviations from such detail may lee-resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A garment puller comprising an elongated shank formed at one end to serve as a handle, and a smooth-edged and nonpointed fabric engaging element projecting toward the handle from the opposite end of the shank and rigid therewith.

2. A garment puller comprising an elongated shank formed at one end to serve as a handle, a relatively fiat rigid loop projecting toward the handle from the opposite end of the shank in diverging relation thereto, and rigidly connected thereto.

3. A device as in claim 2, in which the periphery of the loop is rounded across the front, and the opposed surfaces of the loop converge toward the periphery to form a relatively thin but non-cutting fabric-engaging edge.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

VASELE N. MALAPETA. 

